President Obama answers questions on Reddit

President Barack Obama took time out of his day to answer questions on Reddit, a popular social messaging board.

One feature of the site is the “Ask me anything” segment where users, or celebrities, agree to answer any question users post. Celebrities such as Jimmy Kimmel, Molly Ringwald, Neil Degrasse Tyson and Ron Paul have also participated in the “ask me anything” session.

Moderators confirmed that Obama was indeed the person answering questions by linking to this tweet from the president’s official Twitter account. Obama also posted a photo of himself at his computer while answering the questions.

A sample question:

“The landing of Curiosity on Mars shows Americans still care deeply about our space exploration efforts. What are your plans for NASA if you get re-elected?

Obama’s response:

“Making sure we stay at the forefront of space exploration is a big priority for my administration. The passing of Neil Armstrong this week is a reminder of the inspiration and wonder that our space program has provided in the past; the curiosity probe on mars is a reminder of what remains to be discovered. The key is to make sure that we invest in cutting edge research that can take us to the next level – so even as we continue work with the international space station, we are focused on a potential mission to a asteroid as a prelude to a manned Mars flight.”

If you want to get your question answered by the president you’ll have to act fast. Within the first ten minutes of the chat more than 200 comments were recorded. The site received so much attention it may be unavailable at times.

You can see the entire exchange here. For just Obama’s responses click on his username PresidentObama.